Fast starts for Power and Byrne in Spain and France
Sara Byrne
Mark Power stayed patient in windy conditions and fired a bogey-free six under 65 to roar into contention at the Challenge de España in Andalucia.
The Kilkenny man (25) was disappointed not to take advantage of a six-under par front nine in the opening round of last week's Danish Golf Challenge and card a 72 en route to a modest 47th place finish.
But he kept his focus at a blustery Isla Canela Links to sit alone in third place, just a shot behind Portugal's Pedro Figueiredo and South Africa's Ryan Van Velzen.
"Yeah, I was delighted with that," Power said. "Last week I was six under after nine in the first round and had a terrible back nine, so I was disappointed.
“I tried to keep the foot down, whereas I probably should have tried to keep it more steady.
"So I just knew steady golf out there was going to be good, and once a few putts started to drop, it just freed me up even more."
The two-time Walker Cup star is 100th in the Road to Mallorca standings but feels he has the game to compete for 20 DP World Tour promotions if the putter cooperates.
"It's nice to see a few putts go in and know that my game is there, if I can convert," he said.
Mallow's James Sugrue missed the cut in Denmark, but he also rebounded well by carding a five-under 66 that left him just two shots off the pace in fourth, while John-Ross Galbraith was tied for seventh after a 67.
Max Kennedy shot 69 and Liam Nolan a 70 to leave them inside the projected cut line, but Ronan Mullarney (four-over), Dermot McElroy (five-over) and Cormac Sharvin (seven-over) have their work cut out.
On the Ladies European Tour, Douglas' Sara Byrne enjoyed a welcome return to form in just her third start since coming back after more than four months out with a fractured elbow to open with a three-under 68 in the Jabra Ladies Open de France.
While she bogeyed her final hole, the former Curtis Cup star (25) was tied for fifth, just two strokes behind Norway's Dorthea Forbrigd, who shot 66 to lead by a shot from India’s Diksha Dagar and England’s Hannah Screen and Hannah Burke at Evian Golf Resort.
“I was feeling pretty good. I was just really chilled,” said Byrne. “I went out there just to play some golf and not put any expectations on it and just took it shot-by-shot. My elbow is giving me a little bit of grief, so it’s just hitting and hoping and then hoping it’s not sore.
“It’s getting through that more than anything else, but I was really happy and everything felt good. My putting is really good, I had a chip-in on 16, up-and-downs were really good, so I was saving myself a lot, and taking them when I had opportunities. It’s just fun to play this golf course, the views are amazing and it’s a really cool place to be at.”
Aine Donegan was 36th after a 72 as Anna Foster shot 73 to share 54th while Annabel Wilson was 88th after a 75.
At the DP World Tour's Austrian Alpine Open presented by Kitzbühel Tirol, China's Yanhan Zhou eagled his final hole to open with an eight-under 62 that gave him a one-shot lead over Portugal's Ricardo Gouviea.
In Texas, Ryan Gerar, Andrew Putnam, JJ Spaun, Tom Kim, Matt McCarty and Lee Hodges shot six under 64 to lead the PGA Tour’s Charles Schwab Challenge by a shot from 12 players at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth.
West Waterford’s Seamus Power was 57th after he birdied his 16th and 18th holes for a one-under 69.
Power had little luck on the greens until he holed out from 42 feet from the fringe for a closing birdie at the ninth.
Meanwhile, Ryder Cup Europe has announced that weekly General Admission and Daily tickets for The Green have sold out for next year’s matches at Adare Manor.
The ballot for Daily General Admission ticket applications opens on June 3.
